Dr. Susanna C. Larsson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and her colleagues found that pancreatic cancer was significantly more likely to strike men and women who added the most sugar to their food and consumed the greatest quantities of soft drinks.

The researchers followed 77,797 men and women aged 45 to 83 for an average of about seven years. Those who reported eating five or more servings of added sugar daily, for example sugar added to tea, coffee or cereal, were 69 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than those who never added sugar to their food or drink.

People who consumed two or more servings of soft drinks a day had a 93 percent greater risk of pancreatic cancer compared to those who abstained from these beverages."

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Those who ate bacon five or more times per week were 59-percent more likely to develop bladder cancer than those who never did. Also, men and women who ate chicken this often were 52-percent more likely to develop bladder cancer than those who never ate skinless chicken.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Indulging in bacon too frequently may be hazardous to your health, a new study suggests, while taking the skin off your chicken before you cook it might not be so good for you either.

Dr. Dominique S. Michaud of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and her colleagues found that people who ate bacon five times a week or more were nearly 60-percent more likely to develop bladder cancer, while those who ate skinless chicken this frequently had a 52-percent greater risk of the disease.

Some meat products contain nitrosamines, which are known to cause bladder cancer, Michaud and her team note in their report, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. But the studies that have attempted to investigate the meat-bladder cancer link have been small and most have not separated out the effects of different types of meat.

To better understand the relationship, Michaud and her team looked at data for 47,422 men and 88,471 women participating in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and the Nurse's Health Study, respectively. Participants were followed for up to 22 years, during which time 808 developed bladder cancer.

People who ate bacon and other processed meats frequently were also more likely to smoke and to take in more fat and fewer vitamins, the researchers found. They were also less likely to exercise.

The association between the total meat consumption and bladder cancer was not statistically significant. But those who ate bacon five or more times per week were 59-percent more likely to develop bladder cancer than those who never did. Also, men and women who ate chicken this often were 52-percent more likely to develop bladder cancer than those who never ate skinless chicken.

Compared with skinless chicken, cooked chicken with skin is known to contain a smaller amount of heterocyclic amines, carcinogenic compounds that form when meat is cooked at high temperatures, the researchers note.

The researchers suggest that nitrosamines, heterocyclic amines, or both are responsible for the health effects of bacon seen in the current study, but they note that their findings must be confirmed by other research teams before any conclusions can be made.

I am writing in response to the article about the new regulations on the licensing of homoeopathy and the recent media outcry concerning these regulations. Within the Complementary Association we fully support evidence based medicine and if you look carefully at the large amount of research within the homoeopathic environment it is quite clear that there is plenty of evidence attesting to the efficacy of homoeopathy.

However I would like to draw your attention to the organisation that seems to be behind the complaint about the regulations concerning homoeopathic licensing. If you do a quick search on the Internet you will find that Sense About Science is run by Lord Dick Taverne who has an interesting background, to say the least.

I had to take some time to research Lord Taverne's background as I appeared with him on BBC1 quite recently. I was shocked to find that he has been a long term avid supporter and spokesperson for the pharmaceutical industry.

In the late 1980s Dick Taverne and Roger Liddle founded the consultancy firm Prima Europe. In 1990 Prima published The case for Biotechnology, a paper written by Taverne. Liddle and Taverne were joined on Prima's board in 1996 by Derek Draper. Prima's client list included Unilever, RTZ, BNFL, and Glaxo Wellcome. In April 1998 Prima merged with GPC Market Access and Lord Taverne resigned from Prima, because of lobby-firm rules prohibiting employment of sitting MPs and peers. Interestingly, GPC's clients included Pfizer, Novartis and SmithKline Beecham.

Three months after Taverne's departure his former Prima co-directors Derek Draper and Roger Liddle were at the centre of the 'lobbygate' 'cash for access' scandal, which was one of the sleaziest episodes in the history of "New Labour".

Taverne's position on many things is curious to say the least. When I met him in the green room at the BBC, the conversation turned to the subject of global warming. This was just after the hurricane Katrina disaster. Taverne went to great pains to explain to us all that there was "no such thing as global warming". Furthermore, his position on organic farming and genetically modified crops is also worth considering. I can only assume he was being flippant when he said that organic farming "will be the death of us all" - well, let's hope that it was a misguided quip, however, it certainly didn't come across that way.

If this is the man who is behind the recent attacks on homoeopathy which, by the way, he most unscientifically dismissed as "mumbo-jumbo" during a BBC interview, then we need to worry. The problem with Taverne is that he is well connected, and certainly has the ear of Big Pharma, he also comes across quite convincingly. However, if you take time to read between the lines you'll quickly realise that Taverne is not a scientist, never has been and actually doesn't understand science at all, if we use a definition of science as follows: Science - systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation. Taverne is then, nothing more than a mouthpiece for the pharmaceutical industry.

It is worth noting too that Sense About Science is one of the closest allies of The Royal Society - who have also been involved in the recent attacks.

To read more about Taverne and some of the appalling ideas that he is attempting to propagate, take a look at http://www.gmwatch.org/profile1.asp?PrId=127 There are many other websites that are also wise to his shenanigans.

All, however, is not lost - it is at this time that I call for all of CAM to come together in order to protect our profession. It is not a time to sit on our laurels, after all, homeopathy is just one target for this man and his cronies. He loathes all CAM, and will, undoubtedly, attack other branches of CAM in due course. Then again, it might not be anything personal - after all, he is in the pocket of Big Pharma, and they would like nothing better that to see their biggest potential competitor blown out of the water.

The Complementary Medical Association is offering to facilitate a round table for all who are interested in seeing what we can do - together - to unite and protect our industry. If you would like to know more about this please contact me at Info@The-CMA.Org.UK and our dialogue and strategic planning can begin. I am interested in hearing from everyone in the industry – regardless of your discipline or therapy, your level of seniority and regardless of whether you are a practitioner, student, running a college or even an organisation. I also want to hear from people more obliquely involved in the CAM profession, such as people who work in the natural health retail sector and manufacturing. It is essential that we develop a way of connecting with as many people as possible so that we can communicate with each other rapidly and disseminate data so that we can develop ways of protecting our livelihoods.

How you can help . . .

The first step is to contact me by email. I’ll need your name, of course, and it would be helpful if you could give me a brief idea of what your role in the CAM profession is. I value my privacy as much as I value yours and I respect the laws of this land that serve to protect our data. I promise that your email details – or any other personal data - will never be passed on to a third party.

The second step is to tell your friends and colleagues within the profession about this initiative and get them to send me their details too. It might help to copy this letter and give it to them.

Don’t forget that CAM in the UK is not the only target for the Big Pharma industry and that anyone involved in CAM overseas is also a potential target. So, do remember to pass this letter on to them too. We could make this a global movement!

Monday, November 20, 2006

Cow's milk allergy in babies is being missed by doctors, a survey suggests. (BBC)

Nearly 80% of 500 doctors polled by the medical taskforce Act Against Allergy thought their colleagues confused milk allergy symptoms with other conditions.

Experts say the problem lies in the symptoms being both vague and common - including skin rashes and diarrhoea.

The poll also found many of the doctors did not know the best treatment. Without treatment food allergies can be distressing and even deadly.

Many of the doctors questioned, however, said they would advise a soy-based formula.

There is also a risk that babies who are allergic to cow's milk will also be allergic to soy milk, and sheep and goat's milk.

Cow's milk protein allergy

Symptoms can be vague and include diarrhoea, vomiting, wheezing and skin rashesNot to be confused with food intolerances, such as lactose intolerance, which do not involve the immune systemOther common food allergies in infants are soy, egg, peanuts, wheat and shellfishCorrect advice is to avoid cow's milk and seek medical advice, which may include using a prescribed hypoallergenic formula milk

Cow milk protein allergy is a very common problem - at least 10,000 UK babies are thought to be affected.

Nearly all of the doctors questioned agreed that better information would make it much easier to diagnose the condition in infants.

The taskforce, which includes expert paediatric gastroenterologists, has developed guidance for doctors that will be published next year.

Judith Moore, paediatric dietician and spokeswoman for the British Dietetics Association, said: "If a parent suspects their baby has a milk allergy then they should see their GP who can refer them to a paediatric dietician.

"If you take a good medical history then you can pick it up but it can be difficult to diagnose. The symptoms do vary so it can be hard to spot."

She added that many babies whose parents suspect have an allergy turn out not to have one.

Left untreated, infants with food allergies can fail to thriveand grow, have developmental problems and can develop severe shock and even die.

The World Health Organization recommends that babies are breastfed for the first two years of their lives if possible.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Food and farming charity Sustain has hit out at fast food chain Burger King over an advertisement for its XL Double Whopper burger. The print and TV ad carry the strapline ‘are you man enough’.

Richard Watts, coordinator of Sustain's Children's Food Campaign said: "One in three children is now obese or overweight. Given this epidemic of childhood obesity, the last thing the country needs is for teenagers to be told it is 'manly' for them to eat these unhealthy burgers.

Watts continued: "This kind of advert shows the food industry cannot be trusted to regulate itself. If the Government is serious about defusing the health timebomb of obesity, they need to end TV adverts for this kind of product before the 9pm watershed."

Sustain says an adult male would have to walk about 9 miles (15 kilometres) to burn-off the energy supplied by a Double Whopper.

"The British Medical Journal said in a review in July that a 2 per cent rise in our consumption of trans fats - five grams a day - was associated with a 23 per cent increase in the incidence of coronary heart disease. Consumption of trans fats has also been linked with prostate cancer, diabetes, obesity and liver problems, but there is no consensus on these effects.

Which British food products contain trans fats?

trans fats are the hidden fats in Britain, often not listed on food labels. The only way of calculating them is to subtract the sum of the saturated, polyunsaturated and mono-unsaturated fats from the total fats. What is left is the trans fats. So unless you shop with a calculator it is difficult to know how much you are eating."